Dating app relationships are supposed to be easy: text back and forth, meet up for drinks, fall in love, and live happily ever after. For Matt, it was not quite so easy after he and Jen swiped right on Hinge. Little did he know, Jen (at the assistance of her genius friend, Vanessa) had multiple assessments set up to ensure whoever she deemed Prince Charming would truly be worthy. Prior to meeting, Matt had to pass the Peyton Manning vs Tom Brady test. Lucky for Matt, being a Chicago Bears fan means having little capacity for evaluating quarterback talent. Having found his answer sufficient, Jen accepted Matt's invitation for a first date to the Instagramy WNDR Museum in Chicago’s West Loop with plenty of workers insisting on couple photos at every corner. With a camera full of awkward smiles, Jen decided it was time for the second test at the local bar: evaluating Matt’s level of love for her favorite snack, french fries. 4 hours later, Jen concluded Matt was worthy of her attention and obliged to a second date. A few weeks later, Jen presented the ultimate test to determine the realistic future of their relationship: Scooter's approval. Having grown up with dogs, Matt was not much of a “Cat Guy”, so this would be the steepest of challenges yet. After spending all day googling “how to make cats like you”, Matt took two doses of name-brand Zyrtec (which he insists work better despite his pharmacist fiancé's preference for generic) and made his way over to her apartment for the first encounter where Scooter was sitting in the walkway waiting for him. Dinner went well, with Matt respecting Scooter’s space, but he knew more needed to be done to win over the feline’s heart. After sitting down to watch a movie, Matt put his legs up and draped a blanket over them, only to learn later it was the ideal resting place for the four-legged roommate. Right on cue, Scooter hopped up, and 2.5 hours later, Matt knew he was officially in. And the rest is history.

Since he was young, Matt’s grandmother would end every interaction with “find a nice woman and have a wonderful life”. He fulfilled the first half upon meeting Jen, and the second part wouldn’t be possible without all of you being in our lives. We know that attending a wedding is a commitment on your end and thank you for dedicating time to spend with us. From the beginning, we told ourselves that we wanted to keep the focus of this wedding on creating a fun environment to share with friends and family, so we hope you all enjoy the day! L'Chaim!